Twins Shadi* and Basil* are eight years old and live with their parents, and their younger brother (6) in a tent in the central region of the Gaza Strip. They were forced from their homes when the war started in Gaza and have been displaced four times since then. Their father, Mazen* (48) says the living conditions in the shelter are extremely difficult with no electricity or clean drinking water and poor bathroom facilities. They also struggle to access fresh food – due to availability and very high prices – and mainly eat canned food. He worries about the impact this will have on his sons’ growth and development. But most of all, Mazen worries about the children’s loss of education. They tell him they miss their friends and teachers, and the routine of school. He worries that they are forgetting everything they have learnt and that it will be years before they are back in normal classrooms, given so many schools have been destroyed in the war. Mazen says the war has also impacted on his sons’ mental health and that they lose control easily over little things, they have lost their appetite for food and their motivation to learn. Shadi and Basil attend a Save the Children learning and recreational space in the shelter where they live. Staff in the space aim to provide children with a sense of stabilisation and run psychosocial and recreational activities. Save the Children staff will gradually introduce learning activities once children feel more comfortable and safer. Given the trauma children have experienced, it’s important to start with helping children to feel safe, build their resilience and to support them to express themselves. Sacha Myers / Save the Children